Our Guarantee
Selecting only the very best.
NZ Beef & Lamb quality mark
At Specialty Meats, we only provide the very best grass-fed lamb, beef and venison, under the Pasture Fresh branded programme.
The New Zealand Beef & Lamb Quality Mark guarantees the consistency, origin, welfare standard and food safety standard of our meat.
Only the very best lamb and beef qualifies for this Quality Mark, audited by the NZ government since 1997.
This means our customers have certified assurance that all Pasture Fresh product is:
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New Zealand grown
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Free range
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Tender
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Free of Hormone Growth Promotants (HGPs)
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Processed under the highest animal welfare standards
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Reaches the highest standards of food safety.
Pasture Fresh cuts adhere to a trimming standard whereby meat must be trimmed to a maximum of 5mm of external fat along with removal of all internal fat where possible.
All premises are inspected physically at least once a year to audit the following processes:
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Pre-slaughter animal handling
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Stunning
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Carcass electrical stimulation
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Carcass chilling
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Meat ageing
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Hygienic meat production and handling
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Appropriate storage conditions
AUS-QUAL
Animal
Welfare
At Specialty Meats we passionately believe in providing the very best conditions for our animals – their welfare and wellbeing is of utmost importance to us, as reflected in our overall company mission and values.
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AUS-MEAT is an internationally recognised non-profit organization that has become the go-to auditor for animal welfare in Australasia. It audits the grazing grounds of farms, as well as the transportation processes to the plants to ensure maximum possible comfort and safety for the animals.
In addition, all Export Abattoirs and Boning Rooms must hold AUS-MEAT Accreditation. This ensures an approved quality management system is in place to ensure consistent quality and accurate product descriptions.
Non GMO Project
![Non-GMO_Project_Verification[1].webp](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b9590f_c610f529950442ecafd70fc3624282ee~mv2.webp/v1/fill/w_153,h_95,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_3,enc_auto/Non-GMO_Project_Verification%5B1%5D.webp)
We believe the very best meat is 100% natural meat, without the slightest human interference to the animal’s growth rate and process. We want our children’s children to be able to raise animals and care for them in the same way we can today.
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Be sure to look out for the butterfly on your Pasture Fresh® meat box.
The Butterfly ensures you’re consuming a product from a transparent, natural and non-GMO food source system. The Non-GMO Project has become North America’s most rigorous certification for avoiding GMOs.
We work annually with the Non-GMO TA’s (Technical Administrators) on the PVP (Product Verification Program), revising the following:
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Input & ingredient (raw material) review
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Label review
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Standardized package code & product information
Halal
Certified
We insist that, regardless of its country of destiny, all Specialty Meats lamb and beef must be Halal certified. This is because the stress-free slaughter process that goes into the Halal certification underpins our commitment to the highest animal welfare.
FIANZ (The Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand) and NZIDT (The New Zealand Islamic Development Trust) ensures that all Specialty Meats lamb and beef meets the Halal slaughter criteria, by:
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Assigning a slaughterman to every plant to carry out all slaughter operations
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Carrying out fortnightly inspections at all plant sites and reviewing plant processes
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Issuing shipment-specific Halal certificates in addition to plant certification.
Pasture Fresh 100% Grass Fed Certification
​When setting out to produce the very best, 100% natural meat, we quickly discovered that nothing but free roaming on green pastures with no extra food supplements would do.
This licenced certification is a guarantee that when you choose Pasture Fresh product (from a ribeye steak to a frenched rack cutlet), it comes from an animal which has only ever been fed on natural pastures of rye grass and clover; and has never been raised on grain, maize or any other substitute for natural grasses. Ever!
We’re passionate about truly grass-fed animals without the need to ever resort to other food substitutes.
In dry winters, hay bales (dried grass) are utilized to ensure our animals have all the necessary feed they need.
100% grass feeding preserves the naturally flavourful taste and texture of the meat, and is better for our animals, better for our consumers, and better for the planet’s sustainability goals.
Cervena
Raising only the very best of farmed venison!
Cervena is a 3-part word: Cer from Latin word “Cervidae”, Ven short for “Venison”, and A for A-grade.
Only a part of New Zealand’s venison classifies as Cervena, which is regulated by an independent body that must ascertain that:
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All venison has been fully farm raised
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All venison must have access to abundant pastures all year round
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All venison must be slaughtered at less than 3 years of age,
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Must be totally antibiotic and hormone free
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Must come from farms that meet the AUS-MEAT and HACCP health and safety, and quality standards.
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The Cervena qualification is a guarantee of the best, hand-picked, farm-raised New Zealand venison, providing consistency, superior flavour and tenderness every time.
USDA Process Verified
This gives our consumers peace of mind when it comes to both food and plant safety.
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AMS (Agricultural Marketing Services) auditors conduct a rigorous review of a company’s program, first with a desk audit to ensure all program requirements are accounted for and documented in their Quality Manual, followed by a comprehensive on-site audit of all facilities and phases of the operation that impact process verified points.
A documented program supported by a management system allows applicants the opportunity to assure customers of their ability to provide consistent quality products. Process points may include how a company conforms to various internal, industry, international or customer defined requirements. As such, process points must be verifiable, repeatable, feasible, and factual and cannot be requirements of regulations or management system criteria.
The British Retail Consortium is one of the most widely used global standards to guarantee food safety, as it meets all the “benchmarks” required by the GFSI organization.
100% of plants producing Specialty Meats lamb, beef and venison are GFSI-certified.
All premises are inspected annually by BRC Global food auditors, which includes:
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Thorough revision of HACCP procedures, contingency plans and methodology
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Assessment of food manufacturing facility
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Revision of documentation, including internal safety assessments, record of defects and response to these; analysis of mitigation strategies.
